OK, nothing like a rainy weekend to get you thinking about your auto insurance rates I spent some time yesterday getting quotes from online insurers to see how our current coverage with State Farm stacks up. What I found was shocking. The quote I received from Progressive was 35% lower than SF and Geico came in 46% below our current SF rates. First off, how can this be and secondly, for those of you that have either Progressive or Geico what has been your experience? Any gotchas I should look for in making this switch? We have been with our State Farm agent for over thirty years and I have sent them a nice email with a handy spreadsheet comparing their rates for our coverage levels to the others (I’m sure they are well aware of these rates anyway) but it would be nice to see them make some kind of effort to keep our business…

OK, nothing like a rainy weekend to get you thinking about your auto insurance rates I spent some time yesterday getting quotes from online insurers to see how our current coverage with State Farm stacks up. What I found was shocking. The quote I received from Progressive was 35% lower than SF and Geico came in 46% below our current SF rates. First off, how can this be and secondly, for those of you that have either Progressive or Geico what has been your experience? Any gotchas I should look for in making this switch? We have been with our State Farm agent for over thirty years and I have sent them a nice email with a handy spreadsheet comparing their rates for our coverage levels to the others (I’m sure they are well aware of these rates anyway) but it would be nice to see them make some kind of effort to keep our business…

Geico was so much less than Liberty Mutual for me (below half) that it was a no brainer, have to do. Into year four and two years ago they recommended I take an online course to reduce premiums another $35 every six months. >20 year clean record.

I think it has been posted before, but most quotes include some sort of 1st timer with the insurance that you lose on renewal.

As for Progressive, I have been with them for 8 years, and with 1 accident and hitting an item on the road at night, the premiums went up, but still competitive when I get other quotes to compare. I have been happy with the claim service, and had no issues getting out of pocket expenses like towing covered. Had Geico before that and had no issues as well.

With my Nationwide renewal at end of this month, I decided to shop and went with the same coverage at GEICO. It came in at 41% of the Nationwide price. I was with Nationwide for 30+ years and think that companies do not reward customer loyalty. Rather they assume customer inertia and will raise premiums accordingly.

neilpilot wrote:With my Nationwide renewal at end of this month, I decided to shop and went with the same coverage at GEICO. It came in at 41% of the Nationwide price. I was with Nationwide for 30+ years and think that companies do not reward customer loyalty. Rather they assume customer inertia and will raise premiums accordingly.

Thanks to all for the replies so far. Its good to see that others have seen similar savings by switching. The differences were so stark I thought I must have been missing something, apparently not...

When I first started with auto insurance, GEICO was so much cheaper I double/triple checked. That was 20+ years ago. When I asked for quotes about 5 years ago GEICO was still 35-40% less than the 3 companies I checked. I've had a couple of small claims without a problem and have not had a rate increase. Now, renters/homeowners (through Traveler's) and umbrella are all through GEICO.

One reason I may have a low rate with GEICO is high credit score. They do check that.
Also Berkshire shares get a small discount.

The quote I received from Progressive was 35% lower than SF and Geico came in 46% below our current SF rates. First off, how can this be …

I can think of 2 reasons. First off both Geico and Progressive are direct marketers of insurance. There is no agent who is going to siphon off a significant portion of your premium payment over the next 30 years just for having once sold you a policy. This is analogous to Vanguard and indexing versus active investing thru a brokerage.

Second reason is that Geico and Progressive focus on automobile insurance which has (more) predictable risks and costs. Full insurance companies like State Farm bear the burden of many lines of insurance and in particular homeowners. Losses in one line of insurance are made up by charging more across all lines of insurance.

State Farm reminds me of the insurance version of Edward Jones in the investment world. You get the friendly face and full service from a local office, and you really pay for it in the end.

I was with Progressive and I have had claims with them processed before and they were very easy to deal with on both a comprehensive (vehicle break in) and collision where I was determined not at fault but State Farm (the other person's insurance) refused the claim, Progressive fixed my vehicle and went after them on my behalf.

About a year or so before I married I decided I should combine policies for me and my live-in fiance. When comparing quotes Gieco was about 1/2 of what we were paying individually, Progressive offered no savings so it was a no brainer to go with Gieco.

I have met a lot of people that claim to love money, but they also seem to be the same people that are in the biggest hurry to get rid of it.

Been a State Farm guy for 35 years. Not that I'm looking but I would NEVER go with Progressive. I was hit by one of their insured who was totally at fault and who got a ticket for causing the accident about a year ago and when the claims department called to review and pay my claim they reduced it by 10%. Since I knew the name of the road I was on and knew the direction for which I was traveling they found me partially liable for not being able to avoid the collision. Thus the reduction in the amount. Thus them making 10% more. It wasn't enough to file suit over but if this happens to you never answer their questions. Go with State Farm.

260chrisb wrote:Been a State Farm guy for 35 years. Not that I'm looking but I would NEVER go with Progressive. I was hit by one of their insured who was totally at fault and who got a ticket for causing the accident about a year ago and when the claims department called to review and pay my claim they reduced it by 10%. Since I knew the name of the road I was on and knew the direction for which I was traveling they found me partially liable for not being able to avoid the collision. Thus the reduction in the amount. Thus them making 10% more. It wasn't enough to file suit over but if this happens to you never answer their questions. Go with State Farm.

Actually that tactic may keep them more competitive for their Progressive polyholders.

Owning single share of BRKb (Berkshire Hathaway Bclass stock) garners an 8% discount on your GEICO auto insurance. Many of us on the forum enjoy this discount. Some of us had to send proof; some didn't.

This is in addition to any discounts for safe driver, anti-theft, low mileage, multi-line, etc.

GEICO also offers discount for many other affiliations, like alumni associations and certain employers, and these may or may not reduce or eliminate the BRKb discount.

Quick update. My SF agent replied to my email and spreadsheet with a quick propaganda bomb trashing both Progressive and Geico (no mention of possibly lowering my rates though) I think he must have it preloaded based on the companies that his clients are considering switching to. I'll bet this happens a lot now-a-days.

MilleniumBuc wrote:Do you mind posting the information that the SF agent uses for SF / against the other two?

It would be interesting to see the other point of view. The main one I can think of is that there is a more personal touch and they would take care of your claim.

I just switched form SF to Geico and my agent said they couldn't meet the price or give me more discounts. They did mention that I could call them direct and wouldn't have an agent with Geico, but she said that that probably wasn't worth the $45 a month premium. They didn't bring up anything else in my case.

I dropped Geico after they did nothing to reclaim my deductible when my car was damaged by a towing company that refused to accept responsibility. I've had no issues with Progressive over the past ~5 years.

Neither Progressive of Geico for me based on quotes from several companies
GEICO was 13% higher and Progressive was 42% higher than my present bill from AARP/Hartford. All quotes so far are higher than my present...some were double!!

People should not say everything they think. They should think about everything they say.

It always surprises me how much variation there is in quotes. I recently shopped around and got quotes varying from 90%-300% of my current insurance. I'm too lazy to switch for just 10% off (especially since I'd have to switch homeowners too and that one was actually more).

Interesting. Been with SF for many years. Last shopped for auto, home and umbrella 18 months ago. Contacted 3 agents and got quotes for several companies. None came close to SF. It seemed we were getting discounts for long term customers, no claims, no accidents and so forth. It all depends on your situation.

We don't know how to beat the market on a risk-adjusted basis, and we don't know anyone that does know either |
--Swedroe |
We assume that markets are efficient, that prices are right |
--Fama

I think you should shop around every six or twelve months. I left GEICO for Progressive for better rate and then went back to GEICO when Progressive increased cost. Surprise, I got better rate at GEICO than when I left. Insurance companies are accustomed to increase their costs (I guess for inflation) and don't care if my car value decreases. Now, GEICO rate is increasing again, and I am thinking to switch some time soon. I have a perfect driving record so I can go anywhere I want without any problem. Beside the point, GEICO is okay company since I have not used any of its service (I don't hope to use it anyway. ). SF is my last choice for car insurance as it is always expensive for me.

afan wrote:Interesting. Been with SF for many years. Last shopped for auto, home and umbrella 18 months ago. Contacted 3 agents and got quotes for several companies. None came close to SF. It seemed we were getting discounts for long term customers, no claims, no accidents and so forth. It all depends on your situation.

The last time I shopped around no one could beat SF on our rates, that was then... Don't know what has changed but this time around its not even close (got more quotes from AMICA, USAA and Farmers - all beat SF handily). According to SF we are getting all the usual discounts: Multi-car, defensive driving, anti-theft, auto-pay,etc... I'm giving them to the end of the week to come up with lower premiums that do not require me to give any more on coverage levels (at state min now for liability) or deductibles, otherwise we are going with GEICO.

Current State Farm customer (Auto, Renters, Motorcycle, Umbrella) - Every year or two I "shop" for insurance. I'll send my current agent the quotes and we'll discuss the similarities/differences. He has always been professional/helpful and wants all of his customers to be smart, informed consumers. He believes that we, his customers, will be more satisfied if we know what is and is not covered prior to filing any claims. I agree.

In my experience, State Farm has always been competitive with other major carriers when I combine all my policies. Not always the cheapest, but still very reasonable. Geico was very cheap for auto, but the Umbrella was extraordinarily expensive (the sales person assumed it was due to the motorcycle).

Crimsontide wrote:Quick update: Just heard back from State Farm, "sorry, there is nothing we can do".

I had a similar type of experience when I left my former insurer for Geico-----kind of "bad mouth" Geico, make inferences that claims handling was terrible, etc., but didn't want to come-down on their price.......

I know that you think you understand what you thought I said, but I don't think you realize that what I said is necessarily what I meant......

Some of you seem to be mistakenly under the impression that an insurance agent sets the prices for the products they sell. That is not the case. There really is nothing they can do to lower your rates.

Also, it would be illegal for them to sell you coverage at a lower rate just because you ask. It's not like the cable company. Most rates are filed and approved by the state where the insurance is sold.

I have never received a competitive quote from either Geico or Progressive. Had both Auto and HO with State Farm for several years, but their rates kept rising every year. While I prefer to have Auto and HO with the same carrier, presently am getting the lowest premiums from Travelers on the HO and 21st Century for Auto.

I was with Metropolitan for years and their rates were substantially lower than Geico, Progressive, State Farm, and Allstate. Every other year, I would call the "Big Four" for bids and re-up with Metropolitan.

if you look at the JD Powers research, you will find that GEICO and Progressive are among the worst when it comes to claims handling. That should be no surprise as they are spending all their money acquiring new customers (to offset the ones that they lose through their poor claims service).